1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to agricultural implements and, more particularly, to hitch assemblies for such implements.
2. Description of the Related Art
Farmers employ a wide variety of tillage implements to prepare soil for planting. Some of these implements include two or more sections or components on a common frame to perform multiple functions. For example, a disk ripper may have a leading row or two of disks followed by an array of harrow tines. There may be additional functional components added to the rear of these sections, such as a crumbler basket which has a reel with a plurality of blades for breaking clods and chopping up remaining debris. The tillage unit is typically fastened by a hitch to and towed by a traction unit such as a common farm tractor and may be supported by a single set of wheels. Different configurations of tillage components, and particularly of rear attachments, result in significant variations in the weight distribution between the implement wheels and the hitch.
To compensate for the weight distribution variations and achieve a fairly uniform hitch weight, ballasted pull hitches are sometimes employed. Typically, a heavy weight ballast is disposed within a hollow portion of the hitch frame and welded in place. This technique employs long lengths of square or rectangular cross-sectional configuration bars permanently welded in place inside the main hitch tubular frame. The ballast may be sealed in place with end caps or gusseting. As the nature of the ballast is very heavy, labor time and effort to perform this work is excessive. Each permanently weighted hitch bears a different part number further complicating the process.
What is needed in the art is an improved technique for ballasting implement hitches.